Metal roof structures are typically comprised of a series of rafters which extend parallel to each other from each side of a building to its roof peak. Longitudinal structural supports (eg. purlins or bar joists) are typically mounted on top of and perpendicular to these rafters in a similarly parallel fashion. In like fashion, the walls of a building may be comprised of a series of vertical studs or columns on which purlins/girts are mounted in a horizontal fashion (perpendicular to the studs or columns). It is noted that purlins, when installed on such a wall structure, are usually referred to as girts. Therefore, for the purposes of this application, the terms purlins and girts may be used interchangeably.
In one manner of constructing such a known metal roof structure (or wall structure) as described, a fabric (eg. polyethylene) is first rolled in sheets over these purlins/girts. These sheets then serve as a vapor barrier for the metal roof structure (or wall structure).
Once the insulation is installed over the sheet of fabric, the insulation is secured in place with hard (typically metal) roof (or wall) sheeting attached to the upper surface or flange of the purlins.
Heretofore, it has been known in the art to install fabric across the top of purlins by hand or by various carriage devices such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,698. Installation by hand is often quite time consuming and labor intensive and gives rise to certain safety problems particularly during unusual weather conditions such as high winds. Federal and state OSHA regulations have been passed to enhance safety in this regard through the mandated use of fall protection devices. Installation can also be expensive when it requires extensive pre-preparation (i.e. machine setup) because of the large size of certain known devices used to install the rolled fabric. Further, these known devices are often difficult to install, are designed to operate only in one direction along the length of a purlin, or must be detached and reattached through a cumbersome process when the tensioning device (which biases the roofing fabric roll against the purlin) reaches a purlin cross support.
In view of the above, it is apparent that there exists a need in the art for a rolled fabric dispensing apparatus which overcomes the above drawbacks. It is a purpose of this invention to fulfill this need in the art, as well as other needs which will become apparent to the skilled artisan once given the following disclosure.